6 Large Cherry Logs-Now What ? Help

[Leland Berry]

Hi everyone. Now that I have these home, rescued from a fireplace, my
delight has turned to worry that I may screw them up. 4 are straight and
the end cuts indicate no infestation at all. The big boy is 12ft x 22 " and
The others from 6 to 12.5ft., x 16". I even rented a tow truck to get them home, but they look nicer than my skills would justify, so I'll keep some and sell the rest. Whats the best cut ? I have a portable mill coming in
2 weeks and I'm tentatively thinking flitch-cut and numbering the sequence, maybe 8/4 the initial cuts and 5/4 the rest? I can quarter saw,
or other? I've kept a sprinkler on them for 2 days and now coated the
ends with spar varnish. I tried to cut them as long as possible to remove them from a fence--12', 121/2, 6-0, 9-7 and #56 from another tree 7, & 7-7 x 13" Any and all advice greatly appreciated-----

Thankx Lee

[Frank Drew]

Lee,

It sounds as if you've got things fairly well under control. Important point is to be prepared to stack and sticker your material in a suitable location very soon after sawing -- meaning I wouldn't wait a week or two to stack your lumber. It will dry only as well as it's stacked.

I like your plan to flitch saw the logs but I'd probably reverse your cut list; i.e. I'd get the 5/4 material from the outer sides of the log where the flat sawn grain is the most attractive IMO, and the thicker cuts (8/4, 12/4, etc.) from closer to the center.

One other thing, 12' boards are something of a pain to deal with, and I can't think of all that many applications that would call for lumber that long (maybe long runs of moulding, or a very long conference or refectory table?) Nothing wrong with cutting the logs to more manageable lengths before milling, say 8' and 4', or 9' and 3'; shorter lengths of good looking hardwood are always useful for smaller tables, turning blanks, door panels, etc. If you do crosscut into shorter lengths you should recoat the endgrains; green wood sealer might be marginally more useful than varnish (goes on thicker, dries faster).

[Leland Berry]

Thanks Frank--The lengths were random in order to get the trunk from the tree and eventually from his yard before he changed his mind. My plan is to cut on a Weds and transport to a kiln immediately. It may take a couple of days since the estimated weight is nearly 5000# though. I will probably sell most of it because I don't think my skills can do this tree justice.

[Dick Sylvan]

As has been stated many times before, no pictures, doesn't exist!!

[David Keller NC]

Keep your wood if you've the space to store stacked, stickered, and covered outside. Your skills will catch up to your wood, and you won't have to pay for the kiln ride. Besides, air-dried lumber, in my opinion, works better than kiln dried, because there's no risk of case-hardening, internal honeycombing and other problems that sometimes appear with kiln-drying.

I'd leave the lumber as long as the logs are. Some end-checking is inevitable, regardless of whether you dry it slowly or in a kiln, and so you'll have to cut off about 6" - 12" off of either end of a board when you use it. If you cut it up into 6' lengths, that's a lot of waste.

[Alex Carrera]

Lee, I say keep it all if you can. Even if your skills aren't up to it now. I've got a bunch of old wood that I haven't touched, because I feel the same way, but I know eventually I'll be comfortable with my ability.